Embodiments of this disclosure pertain to articles that exhibit scratch-resistance and improved optical properties. In some examples, the article exhibits a color shift of about 2 or less, when viewed at an incident illumination angle in the range from about 0 degrees to about 60 degrees from normal under an illuminant. In one or more embodiments, the articles include a substrate, and an optical film disposed on the substrate. The optical film includes a scratch-resistant layer and a refractive index gradient. In one or more embodiments, the refractive index includes a refractive index that increases from a first surface at the interface between the substrate and the optical film to a second surface. The refractive index gradient may be formed from a compositional gradient and/or a porosity gradient.